Synopses & Reviews
From the
New York Times-bestselling author of
The Color of Water comes a powerful page-turner about a runaway slave and a determined slave catcher.
Nowhere has the drama of American slavery played itself out with more tension than in the dripping swamps of Maryland's eastern shore, where abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, born less than thirty miles apart, faced off against nefarious slave traders in a catch-me-if-you-can game that fueled fear and brought economic hardship to both white and black families. Trapped in the middle were the watermen, a group of America's most original and colorful pioneers, poor oystermen who often found themselves caught between the needs of rich plantation owners and the roaring Chesapeake, which often claimed their lives.
The powerful web of relationships in a small Chesapeake Bay town collapses as two souls face off in a gripping page-turner. Liz Spocott, a young runaway who has odd dreams about the future of the colored race, mistakenly inspires a breakout from the prison attic of a notorious slave thief named Patty Cannon. As Cannon stokes revenge, Liz flees into the nefarious world of the underground railroad with its double meanings and unspoken clues to freedom known to the slaves of Dorchester County as "The Code." Denwood Long, a troubled slave catcher and eastern shore waterman, is coaxed out of retirement to break "The Code" and track down Liz.
Filled with rich history much of the story is drawn from historical events and told in McBride's signature lyrical storytelling style, Song Yet Sung brings into full view a world long misunderstood in American fiction: how slavery worked, and the haunting, moral choices that lived beneath the surface, pressing both whites and blacks to search for relief in a world where both seemed to lose their moral compass. This is a story of tragic triumph, violent decisions, and unexpected kindness.
Review
"McBride has fashioned a myth of retribution and sacrifice that recalls both William Faulkner's sagas of blighted generations and Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon....Explosively dramatic." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"With a strong focus on the role of women, the author of the The Color of Water...recounts the history of slave revolts without sentimentality in a stirring novel of cruelty, betrayal, and courage....[A]n unforgettable climax..." Booklist
Review
"The pace of the action is slowed by implausibility, repetitive and often cartoonish description, fairly obvious anachronisms, and a tremendous amount of unnecessary detail to the exclusion of the feelings of the (mostly flat) main characters." Library Journal
Review
"Mr. McBride's characters stick with you long after the novel is finished....He is a talented writer and has done a masterful job of peeling back yet another layer of America's dark history." Dallas Morning News
Review
"How do all these characters' stories combine? In a complex, ever-tightening, increasingly suspenseful web that rises toward a dramatic climax. Mixed in with the action, McBride shows the complexity of his characters' inner lives and dilemmas particularly his black characters. The cadence of their speech, the way they interact, the small details of their thoughts, desires, fears and hopes: These the author renders with exquisite ease." David Anthony Durham, The Washington Post Book World (read the entire Washington Post Book World review)
Synopsis
Escaped slaves, free blacks, slave-catchers, and plantation owners weave a tangled web of intrigue and adventure in bestselling memoirist (The Color of Water) McBride's intricately constructed and impressive second novel, set in pre-Civil War Maryland.
Synopsis
From the
New York Times bestselling author of
The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction.
In the days before the Civil War, a runaway slave named Liz Spocott breaks free from her captors and escapes into the labyrinthine swamps of Marylands eastern shore, setting loose a drama of violence and hope among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves, and free blacks. Liz is near death, wracked by disturbing visions of the future, and armed with the Code,” a fiercely guarded cryptic means of communication for slaves on the run. Lizs flight and her dreams of tomorrow will thrust all those near her toward a mysterious, redemptive fate.
Filled with rich, true detailsmuch of the story is drawn from historical eventsand told in McBrides signature lyrical style, Song Yet Sung is a story of tragic triumph, violent decisions, and unexpected kindness.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction
A Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Oprah Magazine Top 10 Book of the Year
Winner of the Morning News Tournament of Champions
A magnificent new novel by the best-selling author James McBride.” cover review of The New York Times Book Review
Outrageously entertaining.” USA Today
James McBride delivers another tour de force” Essence
So imaginative, youll race to the finish.” NPR.org
Wildly entertaining.”4-star People lead review
"A boisterous, highly entertaining, altogether original novel.” Washington Post
From the bestselling author of The Color of Water and Song Yet Sung comes the story of a young boy born a slave who joins John Browns antislavery crusadeand who must pass as a girl to survive.
Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1857, when the region is a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces. When John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, arrives in the area, an argument between Brown and Henrys master quickly turns violent. Henry is forced to leave townwith Brown, who believes hes a girl.
Over the ensuing months, Henrywhom Brown nicknames Little Onionconceals his true identity as he struggles to stay alive. Eventually Little Onion finds himself with Brown at the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859one of the great catalysts for the Civil War.
An absorbing mixture of history and imagination, and told with McBrides meticulous eye for detail and character, The Good Lord Bird is both a rousing adventure and a moving exploration of identity and survival.
Synopsis
From the
New York Times-bestselling author of
The Color of Water comes a powerful page-turner about a runaway slave and a determined slave catcher.
Synopsis
In the days before the Civil War, a runaway slave named Liz Spocott breaks free from her captors and escapes into the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland’s eastern shore, setting loose a drama of violence and hope among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves, and free blacks. Liz is near death, wracked by disturbing visions of the future, and armed with “the Code,” a fiercely guarded cryptic means of communication for slaves on the run. Liz’s flight and her dreams of tomorrow will thrust all those near her toward a mysterious, redemptive fate.
Filled with rich, true details—much of the story is drawn from historical events—and told in New York Times bestselling author James McBride’s signature lyrical style, Song Yet Sung is a story of tragic triumph, violent decisions, and unexpected kindness
Synopsis
A magnificent new novel by the best-selling author James McBride.” cover review of The New York Times Book Review Outrageously entertaining.” USA Today
James McBride delivers another tour de force” Essence
So imaginative, youll race to the finish.” NPR.org
Wildly entertaining.”4-star People lead review
"A boisterous, highly entertaining, altogether original novel.” Washington Post
From the bestselling author of The Color of Water and Song Yet Sung comes the story of a young boy born a slave who joins John Browns antislavery crusadeand who must pass as a girl to survive.
Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1857, when the region is a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces. When John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, arrives in the area, an argument between Brown and Henrys master quickly turns violent. Henry is forced to leave townwith Brown, who believes hes a girl.
Over the ensuing months, Henrywhom Brown nicknames Little Onionconceals his true identity as he struggles to stay alive. Eventually Little Onion finds himself with Brown at the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859one of the great catalysts for the Civil War.
An absorbing mixture of history and imagination, and told with McBrides meticulous eye for detail and character, The Good Lord Bird is both a rousing adventure and a moving exploration of identity and survival.
About the Author
James McBride burst onto the scene with The Color of Water, a memoir exploring the author's struggle to understand his biracial identity. A bit of a Renaissance man he's a skilled musician who has written for the likes of soul diva Anita Baker McBride crossed over into the fiction camp with the war novel Miracle at St. Anna.